[Terrapreta] PERMACULTURE SEED BALLS

[lou gold]

Hmmm,

Clay, charcoal, compost and seeds.

Sounds a lot like those terra preta stories.

Thanks Ben.

lou

On Sat, May 24, 2008 at 8:19 PM, Benjamin Domingo Bof <
benjaminbof at yahoo.com.ar> wrote:

>  Permaculture Reflections <http://permaculturetokyo.blogspot.com/>
>     Seed balls.
> <http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/34/801/1600/Fukuoka.0.jpg>Seed balls
> are a method of propagation widely promoted by Natural Farming innovator
> Masanobu Fukuoka.
>
> Seed balls are simply seeds mixed with equal proportions of dried compost
> and clay, formed into small balls, and dried for later sowing.
>
> To make them, simply select the seeds to be used - thick-skinned seeds will
> need to be scarified, and some seeds need heat or cold to bring them out of
> dormancy. Legumes will require inoculant if they are to fix nitrogen. Also,
> for species that can benefit from mycorrhizal relationships<http://permaculturetokyo.blogspot.com/2006/04/fungi-in-soils.html>,
> adding the spores of mycorrhizal fungi such as the genus Glomus and/or
> Rhizopogon, species Gigaspora margarita, and/or Pisolithus tinctorus would
> be beneficial, though not necessary. [This list is not exhaustive, but these
> are readily available through Fungi Perfecti<http://fungi.com/mycogrow/index.html>
> .]
>
> Mix one part seeds with one part dry compost.
>
> Next, add one part dry clay and mix.
>
> Then spray in water a little at a time and mix it together until you have
> just enough water to hold everything together without crumbling.
>
> After that, form the mixture into balls 2~3 cm in diameter.
>
> Finally, dry the balls for later use.
>
> Once dried, the balls are ready to be spread over land that you want to
> plant. When the rains come, the seeds will germinate.
>
> Using this method along with other Natural Farming techniques, Fukuoka san
> was able to produce 590kg (1300lbs) of winter grain (barley or wheat) and
> 22 bushels of rice per quarter acre of land. Moreover, these techniques
> require the labour of just two people working a few weeks a year to attain
> the crop. There is no plowing, no weeding, no application of biocides in any
> form, and no fertilising.
>
> <http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/34/801/1600/NG4.png>Seed balls may be
> obscure in North America, but in parts of the world already badly damaged by
> human activity, their use is easily recognised. The BCIL Alt.Tech
> Foundation <http://millionseedballs.org/> of India uses seed balls to
> regreen Bangalore. And as most of the planets deserts are the creation of
> mankind, we can follow their lead to undo the damage we have done.
>
> <http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/34/801/1600/imprinter.jpg>Imagine
> tanks used, not for warfare, but to pull land imprinters<http://www.westernecology.com/Imprinters.html>to give seedballs an advantage. Imaging cluster bombs, not killing, but
> being used to distribute seed balls over deserts creating green explosions.
> While some of these ideas may seem unrealistic, they are within the realm of
> possibility... if we only act.
>
> ------------------------------
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